Mr. Elton

Mr. Elton, the vicar of Highbury, is introduced as a young man living alone without liking it, whose blank solitude is exchanged for the elegancies of Mr. Woodhouse's drawing-room and the smiles of his lovely daughter. He is described as a very pretty young man and a very good young man, and Emma Woodhouse immediately marks him as the next subject of her matchmaking, declaring to her father that she must look about for a wife for him. Mr. Knightley, however, warns that a man of six or seven-and-twenty can take care of himself, and that Elton knows the value of a good income as well as any body.

Identity and Background

Mr. Elton is the vicar of Highbury, a position that gives him a comfortable home and a sufficient income, though the vicarage itself is an old and not very good house, much smartened up by the present proprietor. He is known to have some independent property beyond the living, and Emma imagines him to be a good-humoured, well-meaning, respectable young man without any deficiency of useful understanding or knowledge of the world. He is reckoned very handsome, his person much admired in general, though Emma herself finds a want of elegance of feature which she cannot dispense with. He has been in Highbury for a whole year, fitting up his house so comfortably that it would be a shame to have him single any longer.

Arc Through the Plot

Emma's plan to pair Mr. Elton with Harriet Smith proceeds with her characteristic confidence. She observes his warm praise of Harriet's improved manners, his eagerness about the portrait of Harriet, and his gallant offer to carry it to London to be framed. When he leaves a charade addressed to "Miss ———" that spells "courtship," Emma interprets it as a declaration to Harriet. But the crisis comes during the carriage ride home from Randalls, when Mr. Elton, having drunk enough wine to elevate his spirits, makes violent love to Emma herself, declaring that he never thought of Miss Smith in the whole course of his existence. Emma is astonished and mortified, and Mr. Elton, affronted in his turn, departs coldly. He soon leaves for Bath, sending a ceremonious note to Mr. Woodhouse that pointedly excludes Emma's name.

Relationships and Conflict

Mr. Elton's relationship with Emma is built on mutual misunderstanding. He believes her civilities and attention are encouragement to himself, while she has been interpreting every gallantry as directed at Harriet. When he returns engaged to Augusta Hawkins, he is gay and self-satisfied, caring nothing for Miss Woodhouse and defying Miss Smith. His marriage to Mrs. Elton reveals his true character: he is proud, assuming, conceited, very full of his own claims, and little concerned about the feelings of others. He and his wife become sneering and negligent toward Harriet, and Emma realizes that her own behaviour to him had been so complaisant and obliging as to warrant a man of ordinary observation in fancying himself a decided favourite.

Change and Ending

Mr. Elton's marriage to Augusta Hawkins, a woman of ten thousand pounds, completes his social ascent. He returns to Highbury with the air of congratulating himself on having brought such a woman as not even Miss Woodhouse could equal. His manners toward Emma become cold and distant, and he and his wife form a united front of petty hostility. At the Crown Inn ball, he refuses to dance with Harriet Smith, claiming his dancing days are over, and Mr. Knightley must step in to lead her to the set. By the end of the novel, Mr. Elton is firmly established as a complacent, self-satisfied figure, his earlier amiability revealed as a thin veneer over a fundamentally mercenary and proud nature.

Thematic Significance

Mr. Elton embodies the theme of social performance versus genuine worth. His initial charm and gentleness are exposed as instruments of self-advancement, and his swift transfer of affection from Emma to a woman with ten thousand pounds reveals the calculating heart beneath the gallant exterior. He serves as a foil to Mr. Knightley's integrity and to Robert Martin's honest worth, and his marriage to Mrs. Elton introduces a note of vulgar pretension into Highbury that contrasts sharply with the genuine gentility of the Woodhouses and Knightleys. His trajectory also illustrates the dangers of Emma's matchmaking, as her misreading of his character leads to humiliation for herself and pain for Harriet.